Fidelity bonds are purchased primarily to protect against loss to the policyholder’s own assets, from things like employee theft or embezzlement. In Avon State Bank v. BancInsure, Inc., however, the Eighth Circuit interpreted...more

In Lee v. California Capital Insurance Co. (No. A136280; filed 6/18/15), a California Court of Appeal held that it was error for an appraisal panel to assign loss values to items simply because they were listed in the...more

Minnesota’s severe weather season is here. With that season comes the possibility of hail, heavy rain, lightning, and other weather-related threats that can quickly result in serious property damage to residential and...more

A New York federal district judge denied Plaintiffs McKenna Long & Aldridge, LLP (“McKenna”) and Vincent W. Sedmak (“Sedmak”) motions for summary judgment which sought to stop an arbitration action from Ironshore Specialty...more

Ammonia Release Constitutes “Direct Physical Loss” Under Policy -
Why it matters:
A New York federal court recently ruled that the discharge of ammonia at a manufacturing plant – causing a facility shutdown for...more

When faced with a catastrophic loss triggering multiple layers of coverage and recalcitrant insurers at the primary layer, a policyholder has strong incentives to settle with the first-layer carriers for less than the full...more

Last month, a Pennsylvania federal court rejected the notion that a dispute over whether an admittedly covered occurrence necessitated repair of certain discrete portions of the damaged structure was a coverage dispute,...more

Federal and state law have long established that a shipper cannot prevail in a freight claim against a carrier if an “Act of God” caused the freight damage, loss, or delay in question. This “Act of God” defense is available...more

Virtually all property insurance policies include an appraisal provision to resolve disputes over the “amount of loss” for a covered claim. Historically, the phrase “amount of loss” was interpreted to limit appraisal to those...more

Policyholders often are cautioned to provide notice of a claim to their insurance carrier as soon as possible to avoid the risk that the carrier will deny coverage due to late notice. A recent court decision in New Jersey...more

In autumn 2011, Thailand suffered severe floods. Among the properties damaged were shops and distribution centres owed by a subsidiary of Tesco. Tesco was insured against property damage and BI losses in Thailand under a...more

If you are not using the Insurance Case Law Index regularly to check on Illinois insurance cases, you are missing out on a great resource. Now summarizing over 1,890 Illinois state and federal case citations, holdings and...more

Feng shui is a Chinese philosophical system that supposedly orients buildings and their contents in an auspicious manner. Last month in Patel v. American Economy Ins. Co., — F.Supp.2d —, 2014 WL 1862211 (N.D. Cal., May 8,...more

In a case of first impression in the Nutmeg State, an intermediate level court in Connecticut recently held that reinstatement of coverage after a lapse for non-payment of premiums does not operate to restore coverage...more

If the long-term predictions prove to be true and we have a snowy Winter in 2013-14, policyholders may be faced with the issue of whether insurance covers damage to a business facility or home due to a roof collapse from the...more

When the cargo vessel “Irene EM” grounded on 30 October 2009 in the Gulf of Khambhat, underwriters declined cover as the loss was not caused by a peril of the sea.
The term “perils of the seas” refers only to...more

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